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Will Arnett
| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | nationality = | occupation = | yearsactive = 1996–present | spouse = | children = 2 }} William Emerson Arnett ( ; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his role as George Oscar "Gob" Bluth II in the Fox/Netflix series Arrested Development (2003–2006, 2013–present). He has appeared in films such as Blades of Glory (2007), Hot Rod (2007) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014). He is a prolific voice actor with film roles including Ratatouille (2007), Monsters vs. Aliens (2009), Despicable Me (2010), The Nut Job (2014) and Batman in the ''Lego Movie'' franchise. He also voices the titular character in the Netflix series BoJack Horseman (2014–present). Early life Arnett was born in Toronto, Ontario,Weisman, Jon. "Will Arnett", Variety, 2004-06-10. Retrieved April 12, 2007. the son of Edith Alexandra "Alix" (née Palk) and Emerson James "Jim" Arnett, who was a corporate lawyer and brewer, among other occupations. Will Arnett profile, TV IV, 2007-02-25. Retrieved April 12, 2007 His parents were originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and he has roots on both sides of his family in Manitoba going back many generations. Arnett has two older sisters and a younger brother. His father, a graduate of Harvard University and corporate lawyer, served as the president and CEO of Molson Breweries from 1997 to 2000.Will Arnett profile @ AskMen.com, 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2007 Arnett briefly attended Lakefield College School in Lakefield, Ontario, but was asked not to return after a semester for being a troublemaker. The Subway Academy II allowed him to take theatre classes at the Tarragon Theatre. He eventually graduated from Leaside High School and attended Concordia University, Montreal for a semester, but dropped out. As a teenager, he was encouraged by his mother to pursue an acting career. He auditioned for commercials in Toronto and enjoyed acting. In 1990, he moved to New York City to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He appeared in plays in New York and his first acting role was in Felicity Huffman's independent film Erie, which was filmed on the Erie Canal. Career In February 1996, Arnett made his first television pilot with Kevin Pollak and his wife, Lucy Webb, for CBS, that was not picked up. In 1999, Arnett starred in another pilot for The Mike O'Malley Show on NBC as the protagonist's friend Jimmy. The show was picked up, but was cancelled after only two episodes. Arnett has referred to 2000, the year after that show was cancelled, as "the darkest year of his life" and he admits that he "didn't get a lot of work" and "drank those years away." In summer 2000, a friend helped pull Arnett out of his battle with alcoholism, and he began to get his career back on track. In 2001, Arnett was cast in the CBS television pilot, Loomis as the slacker brother of a local news reporter (Cheri Oteri), that was not picked up. In 2002, Arnett was cast in a fourth television pilot which was for the CBS sitcom Still Standing, which was picked up and ran for several seasons, but his character was cut from the series after the pilot. Arnett became so frustrated, after his fourth failed pilot, that he "swore off pilots" altogether, until his agent persuaded him to audition for the pilot for Arrested Development. In 2003, Arnett found mainstream success in television when he played George Oscar "Gob" Bluth II in the Fox comedy series, Arrested Development and in 2006 he was nominated for his first Emmy The show was cancelled after three seasons due to low ratings, despite its critical acclaim and cult following. He also played Max the Magician in Sesame Street, in a nod to Gob Bluth's penchant for using Europe's "The Final Countdown" during his magic shows. According to a 2006 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Arnett's two favourite episodes of the show were "Pier Pressure" and "Afternoon Delight".Transcript: Our chat session with Will Arnett, The Los Angeles Times, 2006. His exposure on Arrested Development led to a number of larger roles in feature films. Though having worked in drama, his role for Arrested Development is still comedy, and he often portrays smug antagonists. He "never considered himself a comic" and considers himself an "actor first".Spitznagel, Eric. "Spitznagel's Exclusive Interview, March 2007", Playboy Magazine, 2007-03-29. Retrieved April 13, 2007. In 2002, prior to Arrested Development, Arnett guest-starred in The Sopranos and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit In 2006, Arnett starred in his first leading role in Let's Go to Prison, directed by Bob Odenkirk, made on a budget of US$4 million.Topel, Fred. Interview: Will Arnett Talks About "Let's Go to Prison", About.com, 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2007 It earned more than US$4 million at the box office and more than US$13 million in rentals."Box Office Mojo: Let's Go to Prison – DVD/Home Video Rentals", Box Office Mojo, 2007-04-22. Retrieved April 22, 2007. In Blades of Glory, Arnett and his wife, Amy Poehler played brother/sister ice-skating pair with an incestuous relationship. The film was No. 1 at the U.S. box office during its first two weeks,"'Blades' Stays on Top With $23 Million", Yahoo! News, 2007-04-08. Retrieved April 12, 2007. and grossed approximately US$118 million domestically during its theatrical run."Box Office Mojo – Blades of Glory", Box Office Mojo, 2007-04-13. Retrieved April 13, 2007. and US$36 million on home video.Blades of Glory – DVD/Home Video Rentals, Box Office Mojo, 2007-11-16. Retrieved November 17, 2007 He guest-starred in King of the Hill and 30 Rock, in which he was nominated for four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Arnett also played supporting roles in the films Spring Breakdown, Hot Rod, The Comebacks, and On Broadway, where he once again worked with his close friend and director Dave McLaughlin. In The Brothers Solomon, he again teamed with Odenkirk and starred with Saturday Night Live member, Will Forte. He appeared in a major supporting role in the basketball comedy Semi-Pro, his second film with Ferrell.Kit, Borys. "Arnett turning 'Semi-Pro' with Ferrell", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-01-29. Retrieved April 12, 2007 He plays Lou Redwood, the commentator of the team, who is "a former player, a bit of a womanizer, and a boozer". On November 17, 2009, it was announced that Arnett would try to win over real-life wife Amy Poehler in a guest spot on Parks and Recreation. Arnett played Chris, an MRI technician and possible love interest for Poehler's Leslie Knope. Justin Theroux appeared in the same episode as yet another suitor. Arnett signed on for one episode, and the episode entitled "The Set Up" aired January 14, 2010. In 2010, Arnett and former Arrested Development co-star Jason Bateman created DumbDumb Productions, a production company focusing on digital content. Their first video was "Prom Date," the first in a series of "Dirty shorts" for Orbit (gum). He also starred in Running Wilde which was cancelled in January 2011, due to poor ratings as well as The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret with David Cross. On March 23, 2011, Arnett appeared in the penultimate episode to The Office season 7. Arnett co-starred in the NBC television comedy series Up All Night, about a couple who struggle to balance their home lives (especially with their newborn child) and their work ones. He is currently the spokesman of a series of Hulu advertisements and his role in television spots deliberately recalls Devon Banks as a power-hungry manipulator. In March 2012, Mansome, Arnett's first executive-producer credit with Jason Bateman, was announced as a Spotlight selection for the Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary, directed by Morgan Spurlock, is a comedic look at male identity as it is defined through men's grooming habits featuring celebrity and expert commentary. He had been attached to play the lead role of David Miller in the 2013 comedy We're the Millers, but had to pass due to "scheduling reasons"; the part went to Jason Sudeikis. He co-starred as Vern Fenwick in the 2014 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its 2016 sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Arnett starred in the CBS sitcom The Millers, which lasted for two seasons. In 2016, he co-created, co-wrote and starred in the Netflix original series Flaked, which received praise from viewers and negative reviews from critics. In 2017, Arnett was cast in the recurring role of Mr. Quagmire on the Netflix comedy drama series A Series of Unfortunate Events. Voice work promoting The LEGO Batman Movie.]] Arnett's distinctive gravelly voice has earned him voice-over work for CBS television promos, film trailers and numerous advertisements, including Lamisil medication. Perhaps most recognizable is Arnett's voice saying, "It's not more than you need, just more than you're used to" in ads for GMC trucks."Will Arnett – Other works", IMDb, 2007-04-22. Retrieved April 22, 2007 He has also lent his voice to a number of television shows, such as Ghostwriter in the 2005 Nickelodeon's hit series Danny Phantom, Duncan Schiesst for the Comedy Central animated program Freak Show, which was created by and also stars the voice of his Arrested Development co-star, David Cross. Arnett was the announcer for the faux trailer "Don't" in the 2007 film Grindhouse. He has also voiced characters in animated films, including Vlad in Horton Hears a Who!,Faraci, Derek. CHUD.com, 2007-03-29. Retrieved April 12, 2007 The Missing Link in Monsters vs. Aliens, Horst the German sous-chef in Ratatouille and Mr. Perkins in Despicable Me. He planned to be the voice of the K.I.T.T. in Universal's Knight Rider, a sequel to the popular 1980s television series. The production featured a Ford Mustang as K.I.T.T. Since Arnett had a previous long standing relationship with competitor automaker General Motors as the voice for GMC Trucks commercials, GM asked Arnett to pull out of the project. Arnett opted to withdraw from the project and he was replaced by Val Kilmer. Arnett made a commercial cameo for the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2."Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – voice over cast", IMDb, 2012-02-13. Retrieved February 13, 2012 In 2009, he voiced the title character in Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, a video game developed by Vicious Cycle Games and starred as an out of work former video game protagonist hoping to make a comeback, versus a greedy game executive played by Neil Patrick Harris. In the Fox animated comedy series Sit Down, Shut Up, he voiced Ennis Hofftard, a bodybuilder who teaches English and always attempts to chase women. The show premiered on April 19, 2009 but was eventually cancelled after several months due to poor ratings. It aired its last episode on November 21, 2009. Arnett lent his voice to Batman in the film The Lego Movie. Arnett reprised the role in The Lego Batman Movie, a spin-off of The Lego Movie released in 2017 as well as The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, released in 2019. He also reprises the role in an episode of the franchise’s spinoff animated series Unikitty! titled “BatKitty”, which will air days before the release of the film. He voices the eponymous character in the critically acclaimed Netflix animated sitcom BoJack Horseman. Personal life Arnett lists Steve Martin and Chevy Chase as his two biggest comic influences. He grew up watching sports in Canada, and is an avid follower of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Blue Jays.Proteau, Adam. "Bleeding Blue and White in Hollywood", The Hockey News, 2006-04-26. Retrieved May 25, 2007 Arnett married Penelope Ann Miller in 1994, but they divorced in 1995."Reason Behind Amy Poehler And Will Arnett’s Shocking Split: The Laughter Just Died", "The Huffington Post", 2012-09-12. Retrieved September 4, 2015 Arnett married Amy Poehler on August 29, 2003. They appeared together in four episodes of Arrested Development, one episode of Parks and Recreation, and the films Blades of Glory, Horton Hears a Who!, On Broadway, Spring Breakdown, and Monsters vs. Aliens. They have two sons, the first being born in October 2008 and the second born in August 2010. Arnett and Poehler separated in 2012, and their divorce was finalized in July 2016."Amy Poehler And Will Arnett Finalize Their Divorce" by Brittany Wong, Huffington Post, 3 August 2016"Amy Poehler and Will Arnett's divorce finalized", CBS News, 2 August 2016 Arnett is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States."Will Arnett Talks Being Canadian On 'Chelsea'", ET Canada, 2017 Arnett endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election. Honours In 2005, [[New York (magazine)|''New York magazine]] named Arnett and then-wife Poehler "New Yorkers of the Year" during its annual New York Magazine Culture Awards."New Yorkers of the Year – New York Magazine Culture Awards", New York Magazine, 2005. Retrieved April 12, 2007. In April 2007, during a panel hosted by The Paley Center for Media, talk show host Conan O'Brien and his writing staff named Will Arnett as one of their three all-time favourite guests, sharing the honour with Norm Macdonald and Harland Williams."Simply Absurd: The Comedy of Late Night with Conan O'Brien @ The Museum of Television and Radio – 4.5.7", The Apiary, 2007-04-05. Retrieved April 10, 2007. Also in April 2007, Entertainment Weekly named Will Arnett a "Future King of Comedy."Markovitz, Adam. "The Current (and Future) Kings of Comedy", Entertainment Weekly, 2007-04-10. Retrieved April 10, 2007. In May 2007, Best Week Ever ranked Arnett No. 9 on its "Top 15 Sexiest Nerd Boys" poll.BWE PRESENTS: The Top 15 Sexiest Nerd Boys", Best Week Ever, 2007-05-17. Retrieved May 17, 2007. In July 2007, ''Premiere'' magazine named Arnett one of "The 20 Hottest New Faces in Comedy.""The 20 Hottest New Faces of Comedy", Premiere, 2007-07-31. Retrieved July 31, 2007. Filmography Film Television Video games Awards and nominations References External links * * Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Canadian male actors Category:21st-century Canadian male actors Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:Comedians from Toronto Category:Male actors from Toronto Category:Canadian male film actors Category:Canadian male television actors Category:Canadian male voice actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:Canadian male comedians Category:American male comedians Category:American male voice actors Category:American male video game actors Category:Annie Award winners Category:Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States Category:Canadian male video game actors Category:Concordia University alumni Category:Lakefield College School alumni Category:Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Category:20th-century American comedians Category:21st-century American comedians Category:20th-century Canadian comedians Category:21st-century Canadian comedians